Becoming Family
by btvscharmedgirl
Summary: A trip to the ER will change Santana's life. Only time will tell if it's a good change.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Thank you to my new beta BornToBeAWriter121.

Disclaimer: I don't own glee.

Chapter One: A Visit to the ER

Leroy Berry glanced at the female police officer standing just outside the door, as he walked into the small exam room. It was a normal occurrence for police to be stationed outside a door, so he didn't really think twice about it. However, the sight that met him upon entering the room, made his blood boil. A male officer was holding down a frightened, struggling young woman, who looked no older than his teenage daughter. There were soft restraints on both of her arms, in addition to her being handcuffed to the bed. Blood was running down her face from an ugly deep cut above her left eye, and she was yelling at the cop in slurred Spanish. What really made him angry though, was that the nurse who was attempting to take care of the girl, was trying to get the cop away from the girl, but to no avail.

Leroy didn't have to see the cop's face to know who he was. He heard stories about him from other doctors, and from his husband. Hiram has been waiting for an excuse to get him kicked off the force for a while now, but the cop has never crossed so far over the line to warrant such an action.

"Get away from my patient. You're hurting her!" Leroy said calmly, as he approached the bed.

"This drunk bitch took another swing at me!" The officer snarled stupidly, not even bothering to look over his shoulder at the doctor.

"I don't care! As you can see, she is restrained. So, back away from her, so that I can treat her." He said remaining calm even though he wanted to physically remove the buff officer. When the officer still wouldn't move he said,

"If you do not remove yourself from my patient, then I'll have no but to report you to your superior."

The cop looked over his shoulder at Leroy and said,

"Fine you can deal with her then." He said backing away from the bed, with his hands up.

"Thank you. Now if you would be as kind as to leave the room; that would be great." Leroy said, and then added, "You're scaring my patient. Feel free to send the other officer in, if one of you must remain attended, but you sir cannot stay."

The cop didn't say anything, instead he just walked out of the room. He knew he was already in enough trouble. Of all the doctors to walk into that room, it just had to be his boss's husband. The female cop entered a moment later.

Leroy walked next to the nurse who was in the process of putting in an IV into the girl's immobile right arm. He looked down at the agitated girl and said, "Hello, I'm Dr. Berry. I'll be treating you. Can you tell me your name while I take a look at this cut?"

The girl just looked at him scoffed, "Ha! Haven't ya heard? I'm Satan." She slurred heavily. "I sure your daughter has told you how evil I am. Of course it's all true. I'm the evilest bitch at McKinley."

"I'm sure that isn't true. This cut is going to need stitches." Leroy said, as he wiped the drying blood off her face. He hoped that he would recognize who this girl was.

"So, you go to school with my daughter ... Are you in the morning Glee club with her?"

"Yeah...Best part of my day actually, but I even managed to screw that up too." Santana said holding her head down as tears started falling down her cheeks, mixing with the blood that Leroy had yet to clean.

"Ahh let me guess you're the gorgeous, fire-y tempered, Latina. That would mean you're Santana. Am I right?" Leroy asked, finally recognizing who the girl was.

"Yeah...Umm she said that about me?" Santana asked, as a fresh set of tears began to fill her eyes.

"Yes, she did. Now I need you to be honest with me okay? How much have you had to drink tonight?"

"Not a single damn drop." She said. If she had been sober he might have believed her, but with her slurring her words it made it hard to believe her.

"Okay, how about the truth this time, because you and I both know that isn't true. Now I can't treat you if I don't know all the facts. Now could you please tell me how much you had to drink tonight?" Leroy said in his best dad voice. It seemed to work because she almost immediately said that she had drank a personal size bottle of Captain Morgan. Leroy looked at the nurse and ask, "Can you get me a banana bag, please?"

"Sure." The nurse replied and then walked out of the room.

"Santana, can you tell me where it hurts?" Leroy asked.

"Not feeling much of anything Doc." Santana replied with a goofy grin plastered on her face.

"I bet you're not." Leroy said with a slight chuckle in his voice; just as the nurse returned with the banana bag. As he hooked the bag up to her IV he explained what it was for.

"Okay, Santana now this will help sober you up, so that we can properly take care of you."

"I don't wanna sober up." Santana slurred, and started fighting against the restraints.

Leroy rubbed Santana's arms gently, trying to calm her down, as he compassionately said, "I know, but it has to be done. I'm going to look you over now to see if I can find anything broken. Is that alright?"

"I don't really have a choice now do I?" Santana grumbled.

"You actually do, however I advise that you to allow me to do the exam. You could have some internal bleeding, or even broken bones. Which we won't know about until we do the exam. So, what do you say? Yah or nah?"

"Whatevs, just do it already." Santana said, hoping that he wouldn't notice anything that could reveal her secret.

Leroy had noticed that Santana was attempting to hold her left arm as close to her body as possible, which was nearly impossible due to the soft restraints still on her arms.

"I'm going to remove the restraints, but you have to promise not to start thrashing again. Can you do that?"

"Whatevs." Santana mumbled getting sleepy.

Leroy removed the restraints, and was happy to see that the girl was still calm. The hand cuffs was still attached to her right arm, but he could work around it for now. As he pulled the shoulder of her gown down he asked her, "Can you tell me what happened to you?"

"I think I got jumped." Santana replied.

Leroy looked over his shoulder at the female cop, silently asking her to explain.

"I found Ms. Lopez in the park over on Peach St. She was sleeping in one of the kid tunnels towards the back. When I woke her up, she freaked out and took off barely running. When my partner tackled her in an attempt to stop her." The cop explained, and they looked toward the door. She took a few steps closer to the bed, and the softly said.

"He shouldn't have done that. She was barely able to walk, let alone run anywhere. He tackled her with his full weight, and then slammed her into the ground a few times when he was cuffing her."

"He broke her collar bone, and cut her head in the process." He said to her.

"What's your name?"

"Officer Haley Bones sir." She replied.

"I saw a large piece of glass on the ground. Right where he slammed her and I think that's where she got the cut from. I didn't like how he was treating her, but it's only my first week on the force and I was shallowing her for a few weeks until I get the hang of it."

"And you have to listen to your partner and not question his motives right?" Leroy said, and the officer looked down at the girl in the bed and nodded her head. He looked at Santana and smiled when he noticed that she was asleep.

"Ann, can you go pull Ms. Lopez's file for me please?" Leroy asked his nurse.

"Sure Leroy." Ann replied, and then disappeared out the door again.

Leroy finished looking over Santana. From as far as he could tell it was just the collar bone that was broken, but he had to wait for the x-rays to tell him if he was right or not. He did notice how dirty Santana was. It seemed like she hadn't had a shower in a couple of weeks. She definitely hadn't shaved, and it looked as though she'd lost weight since he saw her at regionals. He wrote the orders out for the x-rays, as well as an order of morphine for when she woke up. He wanted her to feel relaxed while she was here.

"Here you go Leroy." Ann said as she re-entered the room with the file and a suture kit.

"I grabbed the suture kit while I out there as well."

"Thank you Ann." Leroy said to her.

"Let's do them quick while she's still asleep."

It took Leroy twenty minutes to clean the cut, and sow it back up with four stitches. By the time he had finished, the banana bag was almost empty and Santana was stirring in her sleep as the orderly came to take her to get the x-rays done.

"I have a phone call to make. Is she under arrest?" He asked the police officer.

"Officer Rider read her right's to her, so I am assuming yes, but I don't know what he plans on charging her with." Officer Bones replied.

"Okay, so she going to go up to get x-rays now. You can stay with her, but the cuff has to come off in order to do the test." Leroy said before walking out of the room.

"One more thing sir. It looked like she had been sleeping in that tunnel for a while. She had a pillow and a blanket, along with some personal effects there in there." Officer Bones said.

"I just thought that you should know, in case it helps treat her."

"Thanks." Leroy said as he made his way to the doctor's lounge. It was a slow Tuesday night, Santana was the only patient to come in, which was odd considering it was summer time. Normally this place was crawling with students who did stupid thing out of boredom. Not that he minded. If nothing traumatic happens then he could get home just as Rachel was waking up. However, he had to call his husband and wake him up. Ugh... He didn't want to have to do this, but he felt that this situation with Officer Rider had to be taken care of right away.

Hiram picked up the phone on the sixth ring, and sleepily said,

" _Hello_."

"Hey babe, I'm sorry I woke you up..." Leroy replied.

 _"That's okay._ _Is everything alright?"_ Hiram asked, suddenly on high alert. Leroy never called him in the middle of the night unless something had happened.

"Well, I'm not sure yet. Two of your officers brought in a Glee-mate of Rachel's a little while ago." Leroy said. "It seems as though as your new rookie Bones found Santana sleeping off a bottle of alcohol in the park on Peach St. When Bones went to wake her up, she got scared and tried to run away when Officer Rider tackled and slammed her to the ground with brutal force. Bones said he used his whole weight on her."

" _How badly is she hurt_?" Hiram asked sighing. Already knowing that anything that had the name Rider attached to it could never good. Hiram asked again,

" _How badly is she hurt_?"

"She has a cut on her head, and I believe her collar bone is broken." Leroy replied and the continued,

"Officer Bones also said that it looked like Santana had been sleeping in the park for a while, because she had personal item there. I don't think she's showered in days. She also looks to be malnourished."

" _Alright, I'll be there soon._ " Hiram said and then added, " _Maybe I can finally fire the hothead's ass this time._ "

"Hopefully. I'll see you in a bit. I love you." Leroy said.

" _I love you too._ " Hiram replied and then hung up.

Leroy sat there for a moment thinking about the young girl down the hall, before opening her file. There wasn't much in it, but it did have her emergency contact number. He picked the phone back up and dialed the number for Alma Lopez, who he assumed was Santana's mother. Instead of speaking to a person, the automatic system told him that the number had been disconnected. He dialed the number again just to be sure, and got the same message. He decided to wait until his husband got there, and let him get a number for Santana.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Hiram had called the station house on his way to the hospital to get the paperwork started on Rider, and as well as to see if he had already put Santana into the system. Unfortunately the angry cop had already started the paper work which means he had no choice, but to charge Santana.

The nurse at the front desk pointed him to Santana's room, where his husband was adjusting the collar bone brace on her. Leroy notice his husband's presence almost immediately.

"Hey." Leroy said as he put Santana's arm into a red sling.

"Santana this is my husband Chief of Police Hiram Berry. He's going to help make sure that you're taken care of."

Since sobering up some, Santana had become somber, and had barely said two words when Leroy spoke to her. In reality she had realized how much trouble she was in, and not just for sleeping in the park and getting drunk. Once they realize why she was there in the first place, they were going to send her to the juvenile detention center or worse. She couldn't handle that.

"Can I leave now?" She question hastily.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you can't do that just yet. Officer Rider has already begun the paper work for your arrest which means you're going to have to come to the station with me." Hiram said.

"What is she being charged with?" Leroy asked.

"Rider has her down for drunk and disorderly, resisting arrest, underage intoxication and two counts of assaulting a police officer." Hiram said calmly, while trying very hard not to let his anger shine through. He may think the charges against her were bullshit, but he still had to keep up appearances in front of his officer.

"Can you tell me why you were in the park?"

"Didn't want to wake up my abuela, by going home, so I crashed in the park. It's not that big of a deal." Santana replied quickly.

"Officer Bones said it looked like you've been crashing there for a while. So, have you?" Hiram asked.

"No, I just leave shit there, so that I can have a place to fuck my boyfriend." Santana said, crudely.

"What is your boyfriend's name?" Hiram asked.

"Why does that matter!" Santana snapped and the added, "Look just leave me the hell alone. If you're going to arrest me than get it over with. I just want to get the hell out of here."

"Fine, I will leave you alone, if you tell me who your boyfriend is?" Hiram bargained.

Santana looked between the two Berry men, before spitting out the first name that came to mind, "Puck."

"Noah Puckerman?" Hiram asked surprise. The boy had been over to his house with the baby a few days ago and never once mentioned that he was seeing anybody again. The Berry men shared a knowing look, and then Hiram said.

"Okay, you get some sleep and I'll be back in the morning."

"Santana, Nurse Ann is going to bring you some food. I want you to eat all of it, while I talk to Hiram. Can you do that for me?" Leroy asked.

"I guess." Santana replied, as she laid back down.

Knowing that was the best he was going to get for now he left the room with Hiram.

"I tried calling her house, but it said that the line had been disconnected." He told him.

"Okay, something isn't right here. I'm going to swing by Mrs. Lopez's house, and then go talk to Noah." Hiram told him.

"When are you going to discharge her?"

"Not until in the morning."

"Okay, I'm going to go to the station later. I'm going to need a written account from when Santana came in. I need it from you and your staff okay?" Hiram said.

"Okay, it will be waiting for you when you get back." Leroy said and then added,

"Did you wake up Rachel before you left?"

"Yeah." Hiram replied and then continued,

"I didn't tell her why I was leaving though. Just that I had a situation to handle. She was very understanding. She's a great kid."

"Yes she is." Leroy said fondly.

"I better get going. I'll call you when I've spoken to both of them. I love you." Hiram said.

"I love you too." Leroy replied.

Leroy went to check on Santana again, before he went to get some food for himself. She was sleeping peacefully, and had apparently fallen asleep before eating, because not a bite of the food was missing. The next time he checked on her, she was still sleeping peacefully. He checked on her every half hour for rest of the night and it was the same.

Normally he would have discharged her as soon as he put the brace on her, but he wanted to give her a chance to sleep off the rest of the alcohol. Plus he was hoping that Hiram could figure out what was going on with her.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

His shift was supposed to end at six and he still hadn't heard from Hiram, which was beginning worry him. Hiram never waited this long to give him something that was supposed to be simple, which lead him to believe that it was far more complicated then he thought. The longer he waited for Hiram to call or return to the hospital, the more and more upset he became.

Hiram finally returned at quarter after seven, and the look he wore made Leroy's stomach drop.

"I know that look. It's your 'I've got something to tell you and you're not going to like it' look."

"Well I do have some good news and some bad news." Hiram said, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Rider has been suspended, and will go in front of the review board in a few weeks. Because he used excessive force on a minor in Santana situation, I've been granted permission to drop the charges."

"Okay, that's good, but what's the bad news?" Leroy asked.

"I spoke to Noah. He was not happy about being woken up either, but he said that he hadn't seen Santana in three weeks. He said that she showed up about a few days after school ended looking to get 'lucky' but he had Beth so, he turned her away."

"There's more isn't it?" Leroy stated.

"Santana is in the custody of her grandmother Alma Lopez, but I can't find her. Her house is up for sale, and it's empty. I have my best detectives looking into where she is, but it might take a few days. Social Services will be here in an hour to take custody of Santana."

"What! What about her parents?" Leroy asked.

"Their dead. Her father killed her mother, aunt, and baby sister ten years ago, before turning the gun on himself." Hiram said sadly.

"What about the rest of her family?" Leroy asked.

"Social Services is looking into it but, from what I've been able to gathered, Alma was the only person in her family who would take custody of her ten years ago." Hiram said.

"Which means that she has nobody." Leroy said solemnly.

"I have to go explain what's going to happen to Santana." Hiram said.

"Okay, I'll come with you." Leroy said.

Santana was awake, and staring intently at the breakfast that Zack, the day nurse, had brought to her. Once Hiram had dismissed Officer Bones from her duties, Leroy said, "Good morning, sleeping beauty, I hope you slept well." Leroy said chipper, trying hard to look sad.

"Best sleep I've had in a while. Think it had to do with those awesome drugs you have me on." Santana said cheekily.

"So are you here to arrest me?"

Hiram went over to the bed and removed the hand cuff that was still attached to her wrist.

"No, Officer Rider was wrong in how he treated you last night. You were just scared, and defended yourself." Hiram said, and then got a serious look on his face.

"Santana, I talked to Mr. Puckerman. He told me he hadn't seen you in three weeks. I need you to tell me why you were in the park." Santana looked like she wanted to cry, but she snappily said, "Because I didn't want to go home."

"You didn't want to, or you couldn't?" Hiram asked. She didn't say anything, but the tears slipping out of her eyes gave him her answer.

"What happened?"

"Nothing!" Santana said and then added,

"I got in a fight with mi abuela, and didn't feel like going home." Hiram looked at Leroy and shook his head slightly in disappointment.

"Santana, I've been to your house. I know your grandmother doesn't live there anymore. So, how about you tell us the truth this time." Santana looked at the men in front of her, with hesitancy.

"She kicked me out, and told me not to come back."

"Why?" Leroy asked. There was the question that Santana didn't want to answer among others. It seemed like a simple question, however, for Santana it was anything but simple. If she answered honestly, and told them that her abuela had caught her having sex with Brittany, then it became real.

"It doesn't matter." Santana grumbled.

"When did she throw you out?" Hiram asked. Santana was quiet for a moment before quietly say,

"The day after we lost at Regionals." Leroy and Hiram shared look of horror.

"That's three months ago." Leroy said.

"Have you been staying in the park the whole time?"

"Mostly." Santana said.

"Sometimes I'd stay in the Cheerio's locker room, or if her parents let me, at my friend Brittany's house."

"Did they know that you couldn't go home?" Hiram asked.

"No, I didn't tell anybody." Santana said.

"Why?" Leroy asked.

"I don't know. I just didn't." Santana lied. The truth was she didn't want Brittany blaming herself. Which she knew she would. In a way Brittany was partly to blame for her getting kicked out of her home, but not really.

Santana knew that her abuela could return home at any given moment and yet she allowed herself to go all the way with Brittany. She loved having sex with Brittany, much more than she was ready or willing to admit. Which is why she could never fault her for any of this.

"How did you get food?" Leroy asked. He knew that she looked malnourished, and want to gage how much she had to eat the last three months.

"I stole small things for the grocery store, and the cafeteria at school and Mrs. Pierce always fed me when I came over."

Leroy looked over at the full tray of food, with a frown. Most teens would have devoured everything on that tray.

"When was the last time you had something to eat?"

"I don't remember." Santana answered truthfully. She had been forced to stay in the park since Brittany had left for camp a few days after school let out. With no power to charge her cell phone or laptop, she had easily lost track of the days, which all seemed to blend together.

"I think it was a few days ago. It's been getting harder to steal from the store. Somebody's always watching me when I go in." Leroy sighed as he shook his head. He made a few notes onto her chart, and the left the room without a word. This was turning out a lot worse than he had originally thought.

Hiram watched his husband leave with a mixture of worry and confusion. It wasn't often that Leroy would leave a room without saying something to him, even when they were in the hospital. The only time he ever does that, was when there was a situation regarding Rachel.

In fact the last time he had done that to Hiram was when Rachel had announced that she had met her birth mother, Shelby Corcoran. Leroy had slipped out of the living room without speaking and call Rachel's therapist. Hiram looked at the young woman in front of him, and frowned. There was something nagging at him. If she was having such a hard time getting food, then how had she been able to obtain a bottle of alcohol?

"Santana, I have a question for you, and I want a straight and honest answer. Do you understand?" Santana nearly quivered at the parental tone in his voice. She didn't fully trust her voice not to betray her true feelings, so she simply nodded her head in understanding.

"Good. I want to know how you obtained the bottle of alcohol," Hiram said, in the same parental tone. A mixture of the question, as well as the parental tone that had asked it, made tears form in Santana's eyes. Hiram was looking at her with piercing eyes, silently telling her to answer him honestly.

"I... ah...um... I..." Santana sputtered out, trying in vain to formulate a vague as possible answer. Her brain felt like it was fill with heavy fog, which made thinking on her feet nearly impossible.

"I...ah...I got a...guy near the liquor store get it for me." There that wasn't so hard. Vague, but completely true. Hopefully he accepted that answer, and didn't divulge any further Santana thought.

"Since you have to steal to get food, I am assuming that you didn't have any money to pay for the alcohol." Hiram said, leading into his next question. He was sure that he already knew the answer, but he need her to confirm it.

"So, Santana what did this man what from you in return?"

Damn, he just had to divulge further. He couldn't have just accepted the answer. It made Santana stomach heave just thinking about what she had to do to get that bottle of Jack. The last thing she wanted to do was speak of those acts out loud. So she stayed silent, and tried to rein in the rapidly falling tears.

Santana's silence cemented the theory that had been going through Hiram's mind, but he needed to hear the actual words from her.

"Santana." He said in a soft caring tone.

"It is imperative that you tell me what that man wanted from you in return."

Santana could not hold it in any longer. Now that she was sober, the shame of what she had done the previous night became too much to handle. A strangled sobbed ripped through her body, as flashes of her shame filtered through her mind. Another sobbed ripped loudly through the small room, and then Santana found herself wrapped in a warm hug. That was how Leroy found them a few minutes later. He set down a bowl of broth, as well as a can of Ensure on Santana's tray, and then placed his hand on his husband's back. They stayed there until Santana calmed down.

Leroy pushed the tray closer to Santana, and told her to sip the entire bowl of broth. Hiram and Leroy slipped out of the room to discuss what Santana revealed in her tears.

Hiram sighed heavily as he slumped down into the nearest chair. He put his head in his hands.

"I hate when I have to deal with the kids in this situation. I just want to take all their pain away, and I can't. I feel so helpless."

Leroy sat down next to Hiram and laid his hand on his husband's back rubbing it.

"I know sweetie. I feel the same way. I think it's worse now because, she's a classmate of Rachel's." Hiram sighed heavily again.

"How long after a sexual encounter will a virus present itself?" Leroy looked at Hiram in confusion. Hiram looked towards Santana's door, and it clicked.

"That's how she got the alcohol, isn't it?"

"She didn't say it outright, but she did break down when I was questioning her about it."

"In a couple of days for most of the infections, but some don't show up for a few weeks, or even months. I need to know what she did to determine how long to wait, and if she used a condom. She should be okay if she used one."

"We only have a little while until social services show up." Hiram said.

"Maybe you will have better luck then I did." Leroy stood up and offered his hand,

"She already opened up with you a little, so I think together will work." They walked back into Santana's room. She was lying on her bed staring at the half empty bowl of broth.

"Santana, are you alright?" Leroy asked

"I'm fine." Santana replied. She didn't hear them come back in. Her thoughts were racing a mile a minute.

"This is confidential, right? You can't go home and tell Berry about this, right?" Both men were thrown by the question, but didn't let it show. Leroy picked Santana's file up, and then sat down on the stool next to the bed.

"No, I legally cannot tell anybody except for police and social services about your health. And even if I was allowed to, I would never tell Rachel something like this without your permission."

"Neither would I." Hiram agreed.

"Good." She said, slightly distracted. She then added,

"No offense, but your daughter can't keep a secret to save her life." Leroy chuckled lightly,

"We know." He looked at Santana with a very serious and parental look.

"I need to know every detail about your sexual encounter last night."

"Yeah..." Santana scoffed and then added,

"That's not gonna happen."

"This is very serious Santana!" Leroy said sternly and then added,

"You could have contracted a STD or an STI from that guy." Santana rolled her eyes.

"I made him wrap it up."

"Even still." Hiram said. He really didn't like the idea of some guy prey on girls for favors.

"We need to know exactly what you did so Leroy can treat you properly." Santana glared at Hiram. There was no way she was going to tell Rachel Berry's fathers anything more than she already let slip. She slumped back and attempted to cross her hands in defiance, forgetting that she had her arm in a sling. She grimaced in pain as she moved the broken collar bone. Leroy sighed softly. Teenagers made the worst patients.

"Please Santana. You may not think that it's that big of a deal, but it is to me. The chance is smaller with the use of condoms, but it doesn't eliminate the risks of sex."

"No!" said Santana said and then added.

"Just discharge me, so I can leave. I've got places to be, and people to see."

"Unfortunately your plans are going to have to wait." Hiram said solemnly. Then continued,

"Social Services will be here in a few minutes to take custody of you."

"That's not going to happen." Santana said. Before either man knew what happened, Santana had ripped out her IV's and slipped from her bed. Leroy went to grab her, but she dodged him and slipped out of the room with surprising speed. The men quickly followed behind her.

Santana only got a few feet away from the door before she ran into an official looking woman and a make officer. She went to turn away from them when the strange officer grabbed her from behind. Santana jumped up and attempted to bend the man over her just like Coach Sylvester had taught her, but was unable to due to her injury. She screamed in pain and started thrashing in the man's arm.

"Let me go!" She started screaming over and over again.

"Santana, you need to calm down!" Leroy yelled over Santana's yelling.

"No!" She screamed at him. Then continued to say,

"Let me alone."

A nurse came up beside Leroy and handed him a syringe. He really didn't want to sedate her, but he didn't have any other choice. Santana was becoming hysterical, and was most definitely injuring her bad shoulder even worse. He stuck the needle in her neck, and waited for the sedative to kick in.

Two orderlies came over and took Santana back to her bed. Leroy sighed heavily at Santana's sleeping form, and replaced the soft restraints he had removed a few hours ago. His heart went out to the young woman. She reminded him of Rachel. She just looked so young and innocent lying there. He wanted to scoop her up and protect her. He sighed again, and then picked up Santana's chart and ordered another x-ray of her shoulder to make sure she didn't injure it worse.

He left the room wishing that he could do more for the girl. He just had to accept that he couldn't. In a few hours she was going to wake up and will be discharged. Then the social worker was going to take her to a group home in a neighboring city. He wasn't going to get all the answers he was seeking, but he was going to make sure she gets the proper care she deserves. Santana's situation saddened him deeply. All he wanted to do was go home and give his daughter the biggest hug in the world, and make sure she knew how much he loved her.


	2. Investigations

Chapter Two: Investigations

Leroy sat behind his desk at work combing over Santana's file for the umpteenth time. He didn't know what else there was to learn from the file, but he searched through it none the less. He did it mostly to keep himself from going crazy with worry. It had been a week since Santana had been brought into the hospital, and he had yet to receive an update from social services. He figured if he read through the file for an elusive clue, then at least he was doing something.

Hiram had contributed almost every free minute he had the past week to Santana's abandonment case. So, far he had received no word on Alma Lopez's whereabouts. He did have a lead though. The real estate agent that's selling Alma's house promised to contact him the next time she called.

Leroy had made Hiram promise to look for the guy who had traded sex with Santana for booze. He was beyond furious with this mysterious man, and more so he was worried about his next victim. Hiram had been staking out Lima's only liquor store searching for the man, while two other officers patrolled near buy grocery stores. So, far they didn't have any luck in finding him. Of course he would be having an easier time finding him if Santana had opened up to them more.

Leroy and Hiram kept trying to get her to tell them more about what happened, but Santana had gone mute after she awoke from her sedation. It broke Leroy's heart to watch the young woman walk out of the hospital in borrowed hospital scrubs, looking sullen and utterly depressed.

"Daddy?" Leroy looked up to see his daughter Rachel standing in his doorway.

"Hi sweetie." He said, and gave her a tired smile.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be a home sleeping still?"

Rachel looked at her dad with concern. Whatever it was that had her fathers so concerned must be serious. If her daddy didn't even realize what time it was.

"It's nearly noon Daddy." Rachel said. Leroy looked at her in disbelief, and then looked at his watch. Sure enough, the little hand was pointing to the twelve. It was just four o'clock little while ago. Where did eight hours go?

"I woke up and neither you nor dad were home yet." Rachel said, sounding a little sad.

"I made us breakfast." She said and held up a brown bag.

"You and dad have been working so much lately. I got a little worried when neither of you came home. So, I figured I would deliver the food to you."

Leroy smiled. He loved his daughter so much. Sometimes he wondered who the parent in their relationship was.

"Thank you sweet heart." He said, and motioned for her to join him at his desk.

"I'm sorry your father and I have been neglecting you this week."

"It's okay." Rachel said as she unpacked the food.

"I figured you and dad had a very good reason for doing so."

"There is no excuse that I could give you that will even come close to making it okay." Leroy said. Rachel shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him.

"Are you and Dad working on the same case?" He looked at Rachel unsure of what to say _._ He couldn't tell Rachel that it was Santana, but he could give her an abridged version. Of course if Rachel ever did find out about Santana being in the hospital, she was smart enough to put two and two together.

"Yes. Two of your father's officers brought in a person who needed our help. We've been trying our best to help this person."

Rachel smiled at her father. She was lucky to have two great fathers. Their dedication to the people who come to them for help inspired her. She strived to meet that same dedication.

"I hope that this person is doing well."

"That has yet to be seen." Leroy said solemnly. The phone on Leroy's desk started ring, startling him and Rachel. Leroy answered it immediately, hoping that it was news about Santana. Hiram was on the other end.

 _"Hey Honey. Rachel said you didn't go home this morning. Is everything alright?"_

"Yeah sweetie, I just lost track of time is all."

" _Were you looking over Santana's chart again?"_

"Potentially." Leroy said.

" _Leroy, you need to stop obsessing over that file. There is nothing relevant in it. You did everything you could to get her to open up. We just have to wait until we hear back from the social worker. Until then, I will keep looking for this guy. That's all we can do. Please go home and get some sleep for the both of us."_ Leroy sighed heavily.

"Alright dear, I will try and get some rest." Somebody knocked on Leroy's closed office door.

"I have to go, sweetie. I love you."

" _I love you too. I will see you in a few hours. Go home and get some rest."_

"I will try. Bye babe." Leroy hung up the phone and went and opened the door. A young nurse was standing there holding a file.

"Sorry to interrupt your lunch," She apologized.

"That girl from last week is back in. I figured you would want to oversee her treatment." She handed him the file and then left. Leroy opened the file to with Santana's name was on it.

"Damn it!" He grumbled. He walked back into his office and picked up his copy of Santana's complete file.

"I have to go sweetie. I have a patient. Why don't you go see Shelby today? I don't think your father and I are going to get home until late."

"Okay Daddy." Rachel said, a little disappointed. They had been gone so much the past week, and she was starting to miss them.

"I'll see you at home."

"Bye honey." Leroy said, as he walked out of the room. He was surprised to see a police officer stationed outside Santana's door again. His surprise turned to horror when he walked into the room and saw Santana. The girl was lying on the bed unconscious. Her face was bruised and there was streams of blood oozing from several wounds on her face and neck. Her clothes were torn, and her left leg was splinted.

Santana's social worker Sarah was sitting in the corner with Officer Bones. Both women had a grave look on their faces.

"What happened to her?" He asked. Sarah looked at Santana sadly.

"She started a fight with a girl at her group home, and a few of the other girls friends decided jumped her. They had beaten her up pretty badly by the time they got pulled off of her."

"I think that's an understatement." Leroy said angrily as he searched through the supply cart for gauzes and antiseptic wash. Once he found what he was looking for, he started cleaning the wounds on her face. Most of the wounds seemed to be shallow scratches (probably from the other girl's nails), while other wounds were deeper. A total of three wounds needed to be stitched up. One of which was her previous head wound, which reopened during the attack.

"I'm going to admit her for a few days." Leroy said, once he was finished stitching her up.

"I'm sending her up get a cat scan, and some x-rays."

"Okay." Sarah replied.

"One of these officers must stay with her."

"Why? Is she under arrest?" Leroy asked shocked.

"Not officially no, but un-officially she is being classed as a high risk and will be placed in a juvenile detention center once she is released."

Leroy stare at her in disbelief. She couldn't be serious. "Because of one fight?"

"It wasn't just one fight, and it's for her wellbeing as well," Sarah said.

"The supervisors at the home said she has been refusing to eat or shower. She needs more supervision then the other girls. She needs more structure."

"So, you're solution to her problems is to lock her up with dangerous juvenile offenders?" Leroy said angrily.

"I don't have to explain my reasoning to you." Sarah said condescendingly.

"It's your job to patch her up. It's my job to make sure that she has a place to sleep, food in her stomach, and people to care for her. Where she gets those things from doesn't matter as long as she is alive and healthy."

"And you think that sending her to that place will keep her alive and healthy?" Leroy asked. Anger was prevalent in his emotions, but it was the fear he was feeling that was fueling him. His fear for Santana's safety, or lack thereof.

"Yes." Sarah said confidently. Leroy shook his head as he jotted down the orders for the CT and X-rays, and then left the room. He couldn't be in that room any longer with that vile woman. Once he left orders with the nurses for Santana's care, Leroy slipped into his office to call Hiram.

The phone rang six times before Hiram answered. Leroy barely gave the man a chance to say hello before he went on a rampage. He was talking a mile and minute.

"They brought Santana back in Hiram. She started a fight at her group home and a bunch of the girl's jumped her. She is beaten up so badly. She blacked out and still hasn't regained conscience. She's on her way to have a CT scan done. There is no telling how badly they hurt her, and that evil woman is already talking about throwing Santana to the wolves. It bullshit I tell you. Complete and utter bullshit. Hiram knew his husband was upset, because Leroy rarely used curse words.

" _Wait!"_ Hiram practically yelled through the phone and then continued,

 _"Leroy. I need you to slow down, and explain what is going on. How badly is Santana hurt? Who is the evil woman, and what does she have planned for Santana?"_ Leroy took a deep breath.

"She has several cuts on her face that were bleeding pretty badly. Her ankle is swollen and possibly broken. She was unconscious when they brought her in, and she hasn't woken yet. She's on her way up to have CT done. Hopefully it's just a very bad concussion and not something more severe."

" _She will be fine Leroy,"_ Hiram said comfortingly. He didn't know what it was about the girl, but Leroy had formed an instant bond to her.

 _"Who is this evil woman?"_

"Santana's social worker Sarah." Leroy replied and then added, "She wants to send Santana to juvie once we release her. Two of your officers are standing guard watching her, waiting for the go ahead."

" _What? Nobody told me this."_ Hiram said. He was sitting in his office at work, and nobody had come to him with any news about Santana.

"Why are they here then? Sarah said that Santana wasn't under arrest." Leroy said.

" _If they aren't charging her, then there is no reason for them to be there. I'll be there in a little while, Honey. I'll figure out what is going on."_

"Good. I know Rachel doesn't think Santana is such a good person, but she doesn't deserve this. She deserves a chance to be a kid, and to mess up and learn from it." Leroy said.

" _I agree honey. I'll talk to you later."_ Hiram said.

Hiram stared his phone for a few minutes in annoyance and utter confusion. He didn't understand why his officers were following orders from a social worker. He got out of his chair and walked into the bullpen. They were a small police station. There wasn't much crime that happened in Lima so there was no use for a large station. There were twelve day time officers, and eight night shift. Plus six dispatchers/secretaries. The only person in the bullpen at the moment was Travis, his regular dispatcher. Just the person he wanted to see.

"Travis, where is everybody?"

"Hey boss." Travis said from his desk. He looked at his computer screen and then replied,

"There was a disturbance at Wellington's Group Home. Slater and Rogers are still at the home taking statements, and Jackson and Bones are at the hospital."

"Do you know what happened?" Hiram asked.

"All I know is there was an emergency call for one of the girls, and that there was a fight."

"Okay, thanks I'm going to head to the hospital. Can you forward all my calls to my cell phone please?"

"Sure thing boss." Travis said.

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When Hiram arrived at the hospital he went right to Leroy's office, but his husband wasn't there. Since he wasn't in his office, Hiram figured Leroy would be wherever Santana was. A quick stop to nurse's station got him Santana's room number and Leroy's location. He was up in radiology with Santana.

Hiram knew there was no way he wasn't going to be allowed into radiology so he decided to go see if one of his officers was in Santana's room. Jackson was still standing outside Santana's room with Sarah.

'Good,' Hiram thought. Now he could get a few answers.

"Jackson!" Hiram said in a strong voice.

"Hey Captain. What are you doing here? Bones and I can handle the girl." Jackson said. Unlike Rider, Jackson was a good and fair cop.

"I was just wondering what was going on, and why you are standing guard over somebody who isn't under arrest!" Hiram said. Jackson looked at his Captain in confusion, and got the feeling that he was in trouble.

"I'm just following your orders, Cap." Hiram looked at his officer in equal confusion.

"Whoever's order you are following aren't mine." Jackson looked over at Sarah with a confused and angry stare.

"You told me that the Captain wanted us to stay with Santana to make sure she is okay, and arrest her as soon as she wakes."

"No, I said that you were to remain with Santana and transport the girl to detention as soon as she is released from the hospital. I never said it was Captain Berry who gave the order, nor did I say she was going to be arrested. Jackson looked guilty.

"Sorry Captain. I just assumed it was you who gave the order."

"We will discuss your miss-judgment at the station later." Hiram said. He liked Jackson, and didn't really want to reprimand the man, but it had to be done.

"How about you tell me what happened to Ms. Lopez."

"All I know is that she got into a verbal argument with another girl and punched her. Then the girl and four of the girl's friends attacked Santana. They messed her up pretty bad."

"Thank you. I want you to go find Bones and then report back to the station to write up your report."

"Okay Captain. Again, I am sorry." Hiram waited for the officer to disappear before he turned to Sarah and asked, "What are you doing about the girls who attacked Santana?"

"I'm doing nothing to those girls. Because I'm not their social worker." Sarah said.

"Do you know what is going to happen to them?" Leroy asked.

"As far as I know they have had all of their privileges taken away." Sarah said.

"So you're okay with that with a half assed punishment but you're sending Santana to a detention facility... Huh that sounds fair!" Hiram said. He was more than a little irritated by this.

"I am doing that for her own good." Sarah defended.

"I understand that it seems like I am taking extreme measures here, but I promise you I am not. Santana was at that home for a week and this was the third fight that she initiated. She is refusing to eat, to shower, and she isn't sleeping either. She needs to be in more controlled environment and the Detention center is the only place that will give her constant supervision and making sure she is doing what she is supposed to."

"What about placing her in a foster home? I am sure she would get better care with a family then she will being locked up."

"There are thirty girls in that home, and nearly fifty in the boy's home. We have enough trouble finding homes for those with perfect records. Nobody wants to take in a kid with a bad one." Sarah explained, and sighed audibly.

"All I can do is keep trying to find a family member who wants to take her in, but that's looking grim."

"Nobody wants to take her in?" Hiram asked in shock. How could nobody in her family want her?

"Alma is the only family left on her father's side and everybody on her mother's is too afraid she's going to turn out like her father to take her in."

Hiram rubbed his hands across his face and rubbed his eyes. He may not feel as strongly as Leroy did about the girl, but he still wanted to make sure Santana was alright. He couldn't just sit by and do nothing.

"What if there was somebody who did want to take her? Like one of her friend's families."

"If somebody stepped forward wanting to give Santana a home, I could place her with them. Provided that they pass a home inspection and get certified as a foster parent. She would still have to stay in the detention center until they got certified and that that could take up to six months."

"Isn't there a way to speed things up?" Hiram asked.

"We could petition a judge to place Santana with that family. They wouldn't need to take all the classes then, just prove that they were suitable." Sarah said.

"It would greatly help if we could find Alma Lopez. We could have a lawyer draw up transfer of guardianship papers, and have her sign custody over to the family. She never legally adopted Santana, so the family would be able to once Santana's in their custody."

"So, to be clear if I find a family to take Santana, then she won't have to go to the detention center?" Hiram asked. He really hoped that Sarah would work with him on this.

"If you find her a family and we can manage to give them custody of Santana before the girl is discharged from the hospital, then yes. She won't have to go to the Detention Center. If you can't find somebody before then, she will have to go to the center."

"Just perfect." Hiram said sarcastically. He watched as Santana was wheeled back into her room, with Leroy walking behind her. Leroy didn't see Hiram until he got to the door.

"Oh good, I'm so glad you're here." Leroy signed in relief to see his husband.

"So am I, so how is Santana doing?" Hiram asked.

"A lot better than she looks thankfully. She has a severe concussion that we're going to monitor. She doesn't have any internal bleeding, and her ankle isn't broken like we thought. It's just a server sprain. It will be all better in a few weeks. Unfortunately, she has to have surgery to repair her collar bone. Those girl's managed to brake the bone at a different spot. We need to put temporary pins in the bone, so it can heal properly."

"Has she woken up yet?" Sarah asked. She was genuinely concerned for Santana's wellbeing...Go figure after all she did want to lock her up.

"Briefly." Leroy said coldly. Sarah looked at Hiram and then back at Leroy.

"I have a few thing to do. Please keep me informed of her care. I will be back in a few hours."

"She's just doing what she thinks is best." Hiram told Leroy once Sarah had left.

"I think that there is something else she could do and just doesn't want to." Leroy said.

"She's doing what she can, Leroy. Nobody in her family wants to take her in and since she started three fights while in the group home, no foster family will take her in either." Leroy growled irritated.

"So we're just supposed to give up on Santana?"

"No, not at all. Sarah says if I can find a family who can take Santana in and I get a judge to sign off on it, before she is released, then Santana won't have to go to the Detention Center. It will be easier if we could find Alma Lopez and get her to sign over her guardianship papers."

"So, all we have to do is find somebody to take Santana in?" Leroy asked. Hiram could practically see the wheels turning in his husbands mind, and he knew that he was about ready to regret telling him what he just learned.

"We can take her, Hiram." Hiram groaned internally. He should have seen that coming. He wanted the best for Santana, but he had to think about Rachel too. He knew that the girls don't get along, and Rachel might react badly to Santana coming to stay with them.

"Leroy, I don't think that is a very good idea."

"Why not? She needs a place to live and we have plenty of space." Leroy said.

"What about Rachel?" Hiram asked.

"What about Rachel? I'm sure she will understand the situation."

"Rachel and Santana don't get along, and do really think Rachel will be willing to share her father's with a girl she despises?"

"I think that Rachel has a big forgiving heart, and Rachel's not a child anymore. I think she is mature enough to share our time with somebody else." Leroy said.

"Have you met our daughter?" Hiram asked sarcastically.

"Come on Hiram. I have to make sure that she is being taken care of." Leroy told him pleadingly. He took Hiram's hand and pulled him to the door way.

"Look at that girl. She slept in the cold park for months, freezing, not getting enough food, and she did alone. In the one week that she did have a place to stay, this happened to her. She deserves to have a family who loves her, and we can be that family." Hiram sighed. He knew his husband had made up his mind and that there was no changing it. He just didn't want to say yes until he had exhausted every possibility.

"Give me two days to find her a home. If I can't find anybody to take her in before Friday, then I will consider it." Leroy went to argue, but changed his mind. "Fine but only two days!"

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Hiram sat at his desk in his home office Friday morning, staring at his phone. Two days had passed since Santana was admitted to the hospital, which meant that his time was up. Santana apparently only had two friends, Quinn and Brittany. He quickly ruled out Quinn Fabray's mother since the young mother had just recently returned home with the baby after being kicked out.

He kept trying to get a hold of the Pierce family, but they seemed to be out of the country. With two fail possibilities, Hiram started to call all of Santana's family. Nobody wanted to take her into their homes. After the twentieth familiar reject, Hiram gave up the hope of finding a family for Santana. He call nearly a dozen more people just hoping there would be somebody who was willing to love this girl before he gave up.

Hiram knew what he had to do. He had to go tell Leroy that he couldn't find a home for Santana and that the girl could come stay with them. He wasn't entirely sure if bringing Santana into their home with Rachel was such a good idea. Besides the most obvious reason of the girls disliking each other, as well as Hiram knowledge of Santana's bullying, there was also Santana's new hobby of starting fights with other girls. He had to think of Rachel's mental health and her physical safety.

Hiram knew that he would never be able to live with himself if he turned away a girl in desperate need. Santana had the strong possibility of being one of those girls who gets lost in the system and ends up either dead or in jail. There was really only one question he had to answer. Could he and Leroy handle having two teenaged girls who will likely not get along with each other?

"Times up." Hiram looked up. Leroy was leaning against the open doorway with his arm folded.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know that you've made a decision." Leroy said. He entered the room and closed the door behind him. Rachel was in the kitchen down the hall and he didn't want her to overhear their conversation before they had a chance to tell her. He sat down at his desk across from Hiram.

"I haven't made a decision yet." Hiram said.

"Yes you have. You just haven't accepted the decision you've made yet." Leroy insisted.

Hiram huffed heavily. You would think that after twenty-two years of being together he would get used to Leroy knowing what he was thinking, but it always seems to catch Hiram off guard.

"Can we handle this Leroy? I know we've discussed having another child in the past, but Rachel was still young. Can we really handle having two teenaged girls who will very likely be at each other's throats?"

"Hiram, I have all the confidence in the word that we can handle bring Santana into our lives. We can handle having two teenaged daughters. Whether they are at each other's throats or not, I know we can do this."

"I'm glad one of us is confident," Hiram said.

"I bet you that in a year you're going to look at this day and wonder why you were even freaking out." Leroy said. Hiram stared at Leroy intently. He threw his hands up in defeat and said, "Fine you win. I'll call Sarah and a lawyer and get everything started, and then we will go and talk to Rachel."

Leroy went over to Hiram's side of the office, and sat down in his husband's lap.

"I promise you this is going to work. This is going to be good for us and for Rachel. She's always wanted a sister." He gave Hiram a loving kiss, and then went to start cleaning out the guest bedroom for Santana. In his opinion, it was far too formal for a teenaged girl.

Hiram watched Leroy leave the room excitedly, and couldn't help but smile. His husband's excitement was one of his favorite things about Leroy. He just hoped that Leroy was right about this. He sighed and picked up his phone to call Sarah and their lawyer, silently praying that this was the right decision.


	3. Rachel's Reaction

Chapter Three: Rachel's Reaction

Rachel was sitting on her living room couch listening to her fathers explain the case that has stolen all of their time away from her over the past week. The story they were telling her was sad to say the least, and she felt the need to protect this girl.

"So nobody wants her?" Rachel asked sadly. There had been a brief moment that Shelby had decided that she didn't want to be her mother, and that had hurt greatly. She couldn't imagine how this girl felt to have nobody in this word want her.

"I assume you're telling me this for a reason, and not just as a teaching tool."

"You assume right," Leroy said.

"Your father and I have decided to take this girl in so that she doesn't end up in a detention center. Plus we think that it would be good for her if she had a family to care her own. Our family."

"I've always wanted a sister." Rachel told them. A picture was being painted in her mind. In her mind the girl looked similar to her. She was just a year younger then Rachel, about ready to start her first year of high school. Rachel could see herself helping her new sister pick out her first outfit. Going through hours of sheet music to pick the very best song for her sing at her Glee audition. She could them staying up late talking about who blew what solo in glee club, and gossiping about what boy they liked. She could see herself finally having a friend.

"Rachel, before you get excited about this you should probably know that you already know this girl." Hiram said. He could see the excitement in her eyes, and knew that whatever she was thinking wasn't going to happen. Rachel looked surprised.

"Really? How would I know her?"

"Because it's Santana Lopez." Leroy said. For the first time in Rachel's life her mind was completely blank. The picture she had just been painting in her head blew up, leaving a blank canvas.

"I'm sorry, I think I miss heard you. I could have sworn you said that the girl you plan on bring into our family is Santana Lopez."

"That's right honey." Leroy said.

"I… You… I… Dads, Santana hates me. She goes out of her way to make my life miserable." Rachel said hysterically. Hiram gave Leroy an 'I told you so' look.

"Sweetie, we know that you and Santana have had difficulties in the past …" Hiram started.

"But we think that things will work out, all we are asking is for you to give it a shot. I have all the confidence in the world that this will be good for all of us." Leroy said.

"But Daddy, you don't seem to understand when I say that she hates me." Rachel whined.

"No, we hear you honey, but she's going through a hard time. She has only ever had one person in her life and now that person is gone. She has been alone for months scouring for food and a warm place to sleep. She needs somebody to take care of her. She needs a family, and we can give her that."

"What if I say no?"

"Well it changes nothing, we were informing you not asking you. We are still going to bring Santana into our home and you will welcome her with open arms. You will give her the space that she needs, and when she inevitably does need somebody to lean on, you will be there. Because that is the young woman we raised. A kind, caring, loving, and forgiving young woman. We know you can do this." Hiram said.

Rachel was feeling slightly guilty for her reaction, but she did feel justified. Santana has gone out of her way to make her life hell. Then she started thinking about what her Father had said. Maybe Santana was just mean to her because she had what Santana didn't have. She had family who not only loved her, but fought to have her in their lives.

"What does Santana think about this?" Rachel asked.

"We haven't spoken to her about it yet. Only because she is still recovering from the concussion she sustained a few days ago. She only stays a wake for a few minute at a time."

"Can I go see her?" Rachel asked. She may not like the idea of Santana having an all access pass to torment her, but that doesn't mean she didn't care about Santana. Truth is this was kind of a dream come true for her. She had longed to find a friend in Santana and Quinn and Brittany. Now she had a chance to put bygones aside and to show Santana that she wasn't as bad as everybody thought. If she could get Santana to like her then Brittany and Quinn should follow, and hopefully they could get everybody else to see her for who she really was.

"Sure sweetie. I think that would be fine." Leroy said.

"So…You're okay with us bringing Santana into our home?" Hiram asked.

"Not entirely, but I am willing to make an attempt for you and for her."

"I guess that's all we can ask for." Hiram said.

"We love you very much darling." Leroy said. He stood up and took a seat on the coffee table in front of Rachel. He took her hands and said,

"We want you to know that we love you very much. We are not taking Santana in because we don't love you or we want to replace you or because you not enough. We are doing this for Santana. To give her a better life, and I know that we have room in our hearts and lives to add Santana to that."

"I get it Daddy. I know love me." Rachel said.

"That's good." He said and then checked is watch.

"You better go and get ready. Shelby will be here in a few minutes to pick you up."

"Okay." Rachel said and made her way up to her room. She still had a few thing to pack before her mother came to pick her up. She wasn't entirely sure what she should pack. This was the first time that she was going to be spending the weekend with Shelby.

Rachel was still getting used to having her mother is her life. So, far it had been nice to have her around all the time, but she was still worried that Shelby would decide that she wanted to go back to admiring her from a far. This weekend had to go perfectly for her.

She had just put her laptop into her suitcase when she heard Shelby ring the bell. She ran the steps with her bags excitedly.

"Hi Shelby." She yelled as she reached the bottom of the steps. She dropped her bags and practically threw herself into Shelby's arms. Normally Rachel was much more composed then that, but she was just so damn excited for their first weekend together.

"Hello honey." Shelby said as she relaxed into the hug.

"Are you all ready to go?"

"Yeah I'm ready." Rachel said and then turned to her fathers.

"Bye dads. I love you."

"Love you too honey." They said as they hugged her and said there goodbyes. Shelby grabbed Rachel's bags and went out to her SUV, with Rachel following close behind.

"You ready for a great weekend kiddo?" Shelby asked as they crawled into their seats.

"Yep." Rachel said as she buckled her seat beat in.

"Um… Shelby, do you think we could go do something first?"

"Sure Rach, what do you want to do?"

"One of my classmates is in the hospital. I was hoping to go see her." Rachel said.

"We can do that." Shelby said and then started the car. A little while later Rachel was walking into Santana's hospital alone. She gasped audibly when she saw Santana laying in her bed. Heavy bruises covered most of Santana's visible skin. She gentle grasped Santana's good hand.

"Oh Santana, I'm so sorry this happened to you."

"I don't need your pity Berry." Santana said without opening her eyes. Rachel screamed and dropped the hand she was holding.

"Santana, you frightened me. My Daddy said that you were still unconscious." Santana cracked an eye opened.

"I've been faking."

"Why?" Rachel asked sounding appalled.

"Because he keeps giving me these puppy dog eyes. The ones that you were giving me when you came in here."

"He really cares about you Santana. You should let him know that you're awake." Rachel said caringly.

"Hell no! If I didn't know your daddy was gay, I would totally think he was into me."

"Eww Santana, could you not talk about my daddy like that. It's just gross." Santana shrugged her good shoulder.

"Hey. I'm just calling it like I see it."

"Just stop will you." Rachel asked.

"Okay, so I'm guessing you didn't just happen to be in the hospital and just happened to see me am I right?"

"You would assume correctly. My fathers told me a little while ago that you were in the hospital."

"They shouldn't have! They had no right, to tell you anything!" Santana said angrily.

"They are worried about you Santana. You can't fault them for caring."

"Yes I can. There are always hidden motives behind everything that people do. I bet they only told you so that you would have something to hold over me when school started. So out with it Berry. What do you want me to do so you'll keep this to yourself?"

"I won't tell anybody," Rachel said.

"Yeah right, Berry. What do you want? Huh what is it? Do you want me to call off the slushy attacks? How about hook you up with a football player who isn't in Glee? Do you want me to pretend to be your friend, so everybody will like you?"

"No, I want you to be my friend willingly, not by force. But, I do promise not to tell anybody."

"Whatever Berry. Just leave, I don't want to see you." Santana said her voice slightly breaking. Rachel looked down at the floor. She honestly felt like crying.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later and I hope you feel better soon bye." She walked out of the room and went into the waiting room where she left her mother sitting. Shelby smiled at Rachel as she approached.

"Hey sweetie, how is your friend?"

"She's okay I guess." Rachel said sadly.

"What's wrong honey?" Shelby said.

"I don't want to talk about it." Rachel said.

"Okay, honey if you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen."

"Thank you." Rachel said.

"You are very welcome." Shelby said as she smiled at Rachel and pulled her daughter close.

"Come on sweetie. I have a surprise for you."

"Really? What is it?" Rachel asked excitedly.

"I'm not telling you, you'll just have to wait until we get there."

"Fine." Rachel huffed because she didn't want to wait.

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Rachel's surprise turned out to be a visit to meet Shelby's family for the first time. Shelby's parents lived just outside Lima on a small piece of land. It was overwhelming to meet her grandparents, three uncles, two aunts, two aunt-in-laws and eleven cousins, but Rachel loved every minute of it. After all she was in the center of attention.

Now they were back at Shelby's apartment relaxing in the living room. The apartment was just a temporary place for Shelby until she found a nice house for herself and Rachel. Shelby had decided only a month ago that she was moving to Lima after school ended for the summer, and had accepted the first place that she had looked at. She wanted to be as near to Rachel as she could, and didn't want to wait until she found a house. She had considered temporally moving in with parents until then, but she didn't want to impose on them.

Since returning home, Rachel and been quiet and somber. Shelby had been sure that Rachel would be excited and routing through all her stuff in attempt to learn everything about Shelby. That's what Rachel had done every time she had brought the girl home for the last two weeks. Rachel would pull out a trophy, or a childhood toy, or a new picture album and she would practically demand Shelby to tell her the story behind it.

This time Rachel was just calmly sitting in the arm chair looking through the scrapbook her grandmother had given her. Apparently she started putting it together after Shelby had told her she had found Rachel. Each page was dedicated to each of her family members. There were a group of pictures of each person on the left page, and on the right page Wendy had written a description of that family member in beautiful calligraphy writing. It depicted their name, spouse's name, how many children, likes and dislikes, and a little story about that person and her mother. Rachel had really appreciated the gift. It was clear how much the older Corcoran woman cared.

"Shelby." Rachel suddenly said. She didn't raise her head up.

"Why did you change your mind about us having a relationship? You seemed so dead set against it before Regionals." Shelby looked at Rachel carefully. She was sure that Rachel was upset about something.

"I realized that I was making a mistake. I was scared. I was afraid that I would screw up and you would get hurt, that I would ruin your relationship with your fathers, but mostly I was afraid that you wouldn't love me."

"So what changed your mind?"

"My mother did, actually she made me see that every fear I was having were normal. She showed me the book she was making for you, and showed me all of the memories she wanted to put into it. I had forgotten some of the things my siblings and I had pulled when we were younger. I never realized how much my mother worried about us, and there were six of us. If she could get over her fears and raise us, then so could I. I want to give you the life you deserve. With love, laughter, tough lessons, and lots of memories of us together." Shelby said. Rachel had finally looked up at her mother.

"If I lost you and my dads, would your family take me in?"

"I…um…" Shelby tried, but she was so flabbergasted by the question that she didn't know how to respond. She shook her head to clear the confusion.

"Yes Rachel. They would all jump to give you a home."

"Even though they only just met me?"

"Yes Rachel. If you had nowhere else to go, somebody in my family would step up and give you a home. Even if they had never even met you. That's what you do for family." Shelby watched Rachel in confusion. She had known that Rachel would ask questions, but these where not even close to the ones she had been coming up with answered to.

"Sweetie, where is all this coming from?" Rachel looked at Shelby sadly.

"The girl I went to see today was Santana Lopez. She's one of the girls I was telling you about. She can't stay with her grandmother anymore, and nobody in her family wants to take her in. Dad said he called over twenty different family members, and no one would say yes. How could they do that? I mean I know Santana's a bitch, but she is still a person who deserves to be loved. She still deserves a family."

"I don't know sweetheart. Some people are like that. Life isn't always what you want it to be, and it's hard to get people to change their minds once their made up."

"My dads are taking Santana in." Rachel said.

"Really? How do you feel about that?"

"I don't know yet. I feel really bad for Santana, and I do think that she deserves to have a family. I just don't know it's going to work out with us. I want to put bygones aside and be friends, but Santana is…well she's a bitch. She pushes everybody around her away with her words, and she does mean things to the people. She does really mean things to me. I don't want her bitchiness to seep into my home, but I do want her to come and stay with us. I think it would be nice to have a sister. I just don't know how to get through to her."

"The best thing you can do is to be there for her. Sit by her bed while she's in the hospital, bring her games, books, her favorite foods, music. Ask her how she is feeling, or if she needs anything. Offer to help her get settled in when she goes home. See if there is anything she needs. If she wants you to back off, then do so. Just don't back down. Sisters are fickle creatures. Get to know her, and show her the kind of person who are. If she still doesn't want to be your friend then it's her loss." Shelby stood up and went over to Rachel.

"I love you to death honey. Ultimately, you are the reason that I changed my mind. I got to know you just a little bit, and I couldn't just slip away without getting to know you better. Once you're in somebodies head it's hard to get you out."

"Thanks Mom. You haven't called me that since before Regionals. Rachel said. Shelby was shocked to hear Rachel call her mom. Rachel looked at Shelby shyly.

"I was afraid that you would decide not to be in my life again if I said it."

Shelby kissed Rachel's forehead. "That's never going to happen. Never. I promise you that the next time I leave you won't be by choice. I love you."

"I love you too Mom." As Rachel laid in bed that night she devised a full scale plan to get Santana to like. Starting on Monday with a visit to her soon-to-be foster sister.


	4. Santana

Chapter Four: Santana

A few hours after Rachel left Santana, Hiram and Leroy entered her room. She figured that Rachel had snitched on her, so there was no reason her to pretend to sleep. If she didn't want to talk to the Berry men before, the looks the men were wearing as they entered made her want to even less. She had this overwhelming feeling that she wasn't going to like whatever they were going to tell her.

Leroy picked up Santana's chart. "It's nice to see you're finally awake. I was starting to think you just didn't like me."

The tone in his voice told Santana that he knew she had been faking it. He didn't seem like he was angry about, so she just wrote it off as whatever. Hiram brought over a duffle bag and dropped it on the bed near her feet.

"I went to the park and recovered the belongings you left there." He said. "I went to your old house to move your things into storage before the house sold. I'm sorry to say, but there was nothing left. The real estate agent said that everything that was in the back bedroom went to the garbage. The bed and everything. He suggested that she send the thing to charity, but she refused."

"Figures," Santana mumbled. As much as she tried not to let it upset her, Santana couldn't stop the tears from falling. Hearing that all of her belonging were in the garbage was the finally nail in her coffin. As much as she could try and deny that this was happening to her she just couldn't anymore. The little glimmer of hope she felt was snuffed out. Her grandmother had disappeared, and was selling the house. All the remanences from her old life were gone, just like that. She was left with two cheerleading uniforms, one well used outfit, a blanket and pillow which had no sentimental values to her, a broken phone, and a one battered picture of her family before her father had his psychotic break and destroyed her life.

All the happy memories that she did have were in that room. Pictures of cheerleading and Glee club had littered her walls, the dozens of stuffed animals that Brittany had bought her every time she was upset had been laying on her bed. The books that Quinn got her every holiday sat on her bookshelf. Every glee costume had hung in the closet next to her cheerleading uniforms. The baby blanket that her mother had hand knitted for her had been tucked under her pillow for safe keeping. It was all gone, and all she was left with is what she always kept in her cheerio duffle bag, and the pillow and blanket she had taken from Brittany's house.

A sob racked Santana's thin body. She tried to hold it in. She didn't as to cry in front of Rachel Berry's fathers. She didn't was to seem weak. She couldn't control it though. She had no one left. Her life had once been a happy one. She had a loving mother, doting father, an adorable baby sister, a cool as hell aunt, and then her father killed them all and himself right in front of her. Then her mean as hell grandmother moved in with her, and she had to hear for years that nobody on her mother's side of the family wanted me. Despite how mean she was, Santana and her grandmother had been very close. Right up until she screwed up, and she was reminded of how cold hearted her grandmother was.

Ever since the woman had kicked Santana out, she had relived every moment of her life. She was trying to figure out what was real, and what had she made up in her mind to help her cope. It had seemed as though her grandmother became loving and affectionate with Santana, and less mean. That had been a lie Santana had made herself believe. She was still a mean old bat, but she just had been blind to it.

Santana hadn't realized that Hiram had embraced her again. He held her until she settled down. Once Santana realized that he was holding her, she pushed him away. She hastily wiped her eyes, and stared down at her lap.

Hiram pulled a stool over to the bed. "I know it seems like the world is crumbling beneath you and there is no one there to catch you, but I promise you that it will get better. You have been through more than any fifteen year old should have to go through, and you have survived it so far. All you need is a family who is willing to love you the way you deserve."

"Nobody wants me," Santana said sadly.

Leroy grabbed Santana's hand. "We do."

Santana looked up at Leroy sharply. "What?"

"Santana. Leroy and I would like it if you would come to live with us and Rachel."

Santana looked back and forth between the two men with her mouth gaped open, and then snorted. She openly started laughing hysterically. There was no way they were serious, and if they were then they were delusional.

Hiram looked at Leroy to see if the girl was alright. He thought that perhaps her pain medication was making her a little loopy. Leroy just shrugged his should at him. They waited for her to stop laughing, and then gave her a very serious look.

Santana's amused look dropped. "Aye dios, you not joking." She groaned, and threw her hands up to her face. "You have got to be kidding me."

"I can assure you that we are not kidding you Santana," Leroy said.

"We have already started the process to officially become your guardians. If everything goes according to plan, you can come home with us by the end of the week."

"You're serious," she repeated. "You want me to co-habitat with Rachel Berry.

"Yes we do," Hiram said.

Leroy moved to sit on the bed. "Look. I understand that this isn't the most ideal situation for you. We know you and Rachel have not had the best relationship up until now, but she is willing to do whatever it takes to get along with this."

Santana suddenly looked very angry. "What have you told her?"

Hiram schooled his features to his best fatherly look. "We told her just enough so she understand the situation. What we told her was vague, and didn't reveal anything person. Only that you couldn't live with you grandmother and that no one in your family was willing to take you in."

"You shouldn't have told her that," Santana yelled. "You had no right to tell her anything."

"I understand that you are upset Santana, but you need to take it down a few notches," Leroy scolded. "We are only doing what we think is best for you, and at the moment you only have two options. You come and live with us and get to stay at McKinley and finish high school with your friends, or you can go to Juvie and live the next two years tucked away in a cell, away from you friends, and being watched and monitored twenty-four seven. Your choice."

Santana's anger deflated. "They are going to send me to Juvie?"

Hiram nodded his head at Santana. "Your case worker Sarah feels that you would do better in Juvie then in a group home. She says that you aren't taking care of yourself, and because of the fights you're being classified as dangerous."

"I… But that's… I…" Santana visibly deflated. "I'm not going to have to share a room with Rachel, am I?"

Both men chuckled. "No sweetie. We have a guest bedroom for you to turn into your very own."

"Okay."

"So you'll come stay with us?" Leroy asked, sounding almost excited.

"Yeah sure. It's better than going to Juvie I guess."

Leroy bent down and gave Santana a hug. "You're going to love it."

Santana doubted that, but she wasn't about ready to tell them that. The men stayed with Santana for a little while after that and chatted about daily routines at the house, when Hiram and usually worked, that type of things.

Once they had left Santana laid absorbing the men's visit. This was going to end horribly, she just knew it. They were going to get sick of her and send her to juvie. She wasn't going to give them the chance to do that.

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Monday:

Santana had just woken up when Leroy walked into her room to see how she was doing. Normally, Santana wasn't such an early riser, but the near constant nurse visits woke her up. Three months of sleeping in the park made her a very light sleeper. She had been on constant guard so she wouldn't get caught sleeping in the tube, or worse raped by some sicko.

Since it was the end of his shift Leroy didn't stay very long. He mostly wanted to see if she had been eating, and write in an order for the nurses. He did ask her how she was doing, and if there was anything she could get for her. She answered both questions with a shrug.

A little while later, a nurse came into her room with a wheelchair. The woman declared that she was going to take Santana to the showers so that she could get all nice and clean. It was then that Santana realized it had been two weeks since she had last showered. She had to be smelling horrid by now. How had she not noticed that?

With the help of the nurse, Brandi, Santana got all nice and clean. Santana found herself liking the new nurse. She didn't treat Santana like a patient, nor did she do that awkward small talk either. Brandi knew just what to say to peek Santana's interest to take all the awkward out.

Once Santana was all dressed in clean hospital scrubs, with her hair combed and braided, Brandi wheeled back into her room. Santana was feeling better then she had been in weeks. She didn't want Brandi to leave, but the woman had several other patients to attend to.

The silence in the room was suffocating. She turned the TV on and flipped through the channels not knowing what to watch. Santana didn't really watch TV. The only TV stations she got at her grandmother's house were Telenovas, and they didn't have internet. She watched movies when she was with Quinn and Brittany's, and Brittany always watched cartoons that Santana didn't really like.

"You should put TNT on," said a voice from the door way. Santana jumped, and sent a glare at the culprit.

Rachel looked sheepishly at Santana. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's Whatevs," Santana said nonchalantly.

Rachel hesitantly walked into the room. "I saw you flip through the channels several times. You really should watch TNT."

Santana looked at Rachel dumbly. She had no clue what TNT was.

Rachel noticed the blank stare. "It's a TV station. They run re-runs of popular TV shows in the morning. Angel is just about over, and Charmed is about to start. It's a really good show about three sister witches."

It sounded interesting enough to Santana. Nobody had ever suggested she watch a TV show before, so might as well check it out. "Do you know what channel it is," She asked awkwardly.

"Fifty-one," Rachel said.

Santana turned the channel to the TNT station. The closing credits for Angel were finishing up on the screen. Charmed started, and Rachel let out a small squeal. "You're in luck. This is the pilot episode."

Santana watched the TV with avid attention. After the opening credits rolled, Santana noticed that Rachel was still awkwardly standing next to her bed. She looked at the girl who was going to be her foster sister closely. In a few days' time, she was going to be sharing a house with her. She really didn't want to go to juvie, but she had no clue how she was going to live with Rachel without killing her.

Santana cleared her throat gathering Rachel's attention. "You… ah… Um…" She growled quietly to herself. "Just sit down, Midget." She pointed at the reclining chair next to her bed. "If you want." She added feeling badly that she snapped.

"Thank you, Santana," Rachel said. She walked over to the chair and flopped down.

Santana watch Rachel intently as the younger girl watched the TV show intently. Rachel seemed relaxed to her. The Rachel she knew was always so wound up. Always ready to jump up at any second to perform, suggest her ideas to the group, or even to critic somebody's performance. Rachel was curled up in the chair and she looked mighty comfy.

Santana turned her attention back to the show. She began to really enjoy the episode, and was disappointed when it ended. Her disappointment must have be written on her face, because Rachel quickly informed her that there was another episode.

They sat quietly and watched the second episode. Instead of changing the station after Charmed was over, they watched a show called ER. At twelve Rachel stood up and declared that she had to go to her dance lesson. Rachel left and Santana felt sad about it. She chalked it up to her being lonely, but there was a little voice in the back of her head saying it was because she missed the diva.

Santana laid in her bed until two o'clock watching Law and Order, when Brandi came round to take her for a walk. Before Rachel had introduced her to TNT, Santana had been itching to get up and go. Brandi wheeled Santana down to the courtyard, and then helped her stand. Walking was more difficult than Santana had thought. She couldn't put her full weight on the ankle yet, and because of her broken collarbone she was only able to use one crutch. It probably would have been easier if her sprained ankle wasn't on the same side as her broken collarbone.

They took a lap around the courtyard and then headed back to her room. She was surprised to see that two hours had passed. Charmed was playing on the TV again, exciting Santana. That excitement quickly disappeared as she realized that the episode was one from later on in the series. Phoebe's hair was longer and blonder, where it had been short and brown in the episodes earlier. Not wanting to spoil herself she quickly changed the station.

Santana fell asleep not long after that. She got board of not being able to find anything on the TV that peaked her interest, and shut down the television.

Tuesday:

Rachel walked into Santana's room just before eight the next morning, carrying a knapsack over her shoulder. Since Santana had been up most of the night, TNT was already playing on the TV. Rachel smiled at Santana and went over to the chair.

Santana felt like she was going to burst when Rachel walked into the room. She had this overwhelming urge to tell Rachel about the afternoon episodes of Charmed. "Did you know Charmed comes on in the afternoon too, but they don't follow along with the morning episode? Who does that?"

Rachel chuckled. "I did know that." She pulled the knapsack over her head and placed the bag onto Santana's table. "I'm really glad that you like the show. I brought you something."

Santana stared at the bag, unsure of what to do. She thought that it was sweet of Rachel to think of her, but she wasn't going to tell her that. Besides, whatever was in the bag was sure to be music related, and Santana just didn't feel like singing.

"It's not going to bite," Rachel deadpanned.

Santana looked at Rachel, and playfully said, "Sure it's not. Is it going to suck me into munckinland?"

"No," Rachel said faking offence.

Santana smiled at Rachel and opened the bag. She was surprise to find a laptop, and the first four seasons of Charmed. "I have all eight seasons. You probably won't get through them all before you go home, but I brought four just in case."

"Thanks Berry," Santana said. She was excited that she could watch the show whenever she wanted to now. "This is way cool."

"I thought you would appreciate it," Rachel said. "The laptop was my old one. It's a little outdated, but I still runs well. Dads said that I could give it to you until they got you your own."

Santana (who had been examining the back cover of season one) looked up sharply. "Why would they want to spend that much money on somebody who isn't their kid?" Her question was an honest one, spoken without malice.

Rachel looked at Santana confused. Hadn't her father already talked to Santana already? "Um… You are going to be there child," Rachel sad unsurely.

"Not there real kid," Santana said. "I'm just going to be there foster kid."

"One of my dads isn't biologically my dad. He doesn't treat me any different than the other. They both love me equally."

"Yeah but they've both been your fathers sine the day you were created. I'm just some nobody who is going to be crashing in their guest bedroom."

"Santana," Rachel chastened. "You are hardly a nobody, and you most certainty will not going to be crash in the guest bedroom. You will be living in the guest bedroom, which will be you room. It's going to be Santana's bedroom. We'll put a sign onto door and everything."

Santana looked at Rachel skeptically. She envied Rachel's optimism. That was one trait that she admired about Rachel. She always tried to see very best in people, and in a situation. Santana knew that she was never going to fit in at the Berry house. They were never going to see her as anything other than a foster kid, and in the end they would get bored of playing the heroes and they would send her back.

She wasn't going to voice her concerns to Rachel though. The girl would just go tell her father's, and it would spoil her plans to get out of there before they had a hand to hurt her. "Sure. Whatevs. The show's coming on so enough with the chit-chat.

Rachel watched Santana closely, but chose not to push it. If there was one thing she knew about Santana, it was the way the girl reacted when she was backed into a corner. She lashed out with words and sometime violence. She wanted Santana's entrance into their family to start on a good note.

They continued watching TNT until ER and ended, and then Santana put Charmed on the laptop. Rachel left briefly to get them food to eat, and returned with Chinese food. Santana's mouth watered at the delicious smell. Her appetite had finally returned. She still couldn't eat much because her stomach would protest and send her running to the bathroom.

As time wore on, they were no longer just sitting there watching Charmed. Talk had accompanied the watching. Every once in a while Santana would pause the show and ask Rachel a question, or point something out. Then Rachel would go on a long winded explanation or rant, which Santana not only listened to but contributed to.

Santana found herself enjoying Rachel's company. Charmed had given them an icebreaker, and a common interest. Rachel's rants didn't seem as annoying to her no that she was interested in what Rachel was talking about.

Rachel left after nine, leaving Santana alone again. The night time had been the most depressing time during her stay in the park. She had been terrified that somebody would find her, so she slept very little. Instead she would lie awake and obsess about her life. So many time she had contemplated telling somebody that she had been kicked out. Mostly on those nights where the temperatures would drop to the forties and fifties. Which had been nearly every night until mid-May.

Loneliness ate at Santana every night. The pain of being abandoned by her grandmother, and having nobody to talk to about it buried deep in her chest. She wished every night that somebody would notice something was wrong with her. That somebody would notice what she was cowardly to say, but nobody ever did. Nobody came to her rescue, and that hurt.

Santana didn't even know why she just didn't tell somebody that she had no place to go. There had to be somebody who could help her. Mercedes family took Quinn in even though she had a place to stay. Surely somebody would have done that for her.

Fear. That's why Santana didn't say anything. It was one thing to drown yourself in sorrow every night because you think that nobody cared enough about you, but it was another feeling to know that nobody care about you. To put yourself out there and say 'hey I need help,' and have nobody step up. She knew half of the club hated her, they thought she was a bitch, and she was. She owned that about herself. She liked thinking that if the time came, they would have her back. She didn't want to find out if that was true or not, because she wouldn't have been able to take it. She had already been trying to keep the bad thoughts out of her head. If she had put herself out there and they rejected her, she doubt she would have been able to keep her demons at bay. She doubted that she would be alive to be saved. She was sure the demons would win.

Santana shook her head in attempt to clear away the bad thoughts. She had been saved. There were people who cared. Now she just had to make sure that she didn't screw it up, because she had no one else. Rachel and her fathers were it for her. She forced herself to sleep.

Wednesday:

Santana was already up and waiting for Rachel to show up long before eight, when Charmed started. As usual, she hadn't slept well. Leroy had checked on her several time during the night, and each time she woke up. He didn't notice that she awake as he sat and watched her sleep. If she didn't know that he was gay and essentially going to be one of her fathers, she would have found it creepy. She actually found it endearing. She wondered if he did this with Rachel.

Rachel didn't show up for the start of Charmed though, and by the time ER ended she still hadn't shown up. Santana was upset that Rachel didn't show up today, and she hated that. She hated to have her feeling consuming her life. Rachel wasn't her friend, and she shouldn't expect Rachel to come hang with her just because her father were fostering her.

Brandi entered her room just after one to talk her for a walk again, which took Santana's mind off of her missing soon-to-be foster sister. The nurse took Santana down to the courtyard again, and Santana managed to make it all the way around the large yard with no help from Brandi. Her ankle was healing up very nicely. Santana hoped that by the time she went home to the Berry's, the crutch wouldn't be necessary.

Brandi took Santana to bath after the walk, and just as she did earlier in the week, she braided Santana's hair. This time in a two French braids. Santana looked mighty cute.

After Brandi returned Santana to her room, she decided to take a nap. She was awfully tired, and she was still hurt that Rachel didn't come spend the day with her. Sleep sounded like a good alternative to how she was feeling.

A few hours later Santana once again awoke to find Leroy watching her sleep, along with Hiram. This time she instead of pretending to sleep, she sat up and acknowledged his presence. "I'm gonna start charging you to watch me sleep."

"A show I would gladly pay for," Leroy said amused.

"Do you watch Rachel this much?" Santana asked.

"I watch Rachel sleep every time she leaves her door open," Leroy said. "I've been doing it since she was born, and I will continue to do it until I can't. You girls look so peaceful when you sleep. I like to know that you are still alive and breathing. It helps me sleep to know that."

"It's a dad thing," Hiram said. "One day you will have your own child and you will do the exact same thing. You'll go in to make sure you baby is alright and end up sitting there until your husband comes to find you and drag your butt to bed."

"Or he'll sit there and join you for a while," Leroy finished.

Santana didn't know whether they were using the pronoun he because they were talking about each other, or if they assumed she was going to be with a man. There was a fleeting moment when her head screamed 'her not him' and 'wife not husband', but she quickly dismissed those thoughts. She wasn't gay, she just liked having sex with Brittany. They weren't going to get married and have kids. She was probably going to end up with somebody like Puckerman, but it was most defiantly going to be a man. Because she wasn't gay.

"So, we came bearing food and news," Hiram said from his spot by the window. There was a large box next to him. "A little song bird told us that you have a love for Breadstix, so we bought a little bit of everything."

"Mmm, that sounds and smells heavenly," Santana said, as she rubbed her hand in delight. As Hiram dished out the food, Santana contemplated o how to ask about Rachel. She didn't want to sound too eager to know where the girl was, because Santana didn't do eager. At the same time, she didn't want to let on that she was hurt by the girl's absence. That would open a can of worms that she didn't want to deal with.

"So…" She began awkwardly. "Where is this little birdie tonight? She hasn't been by to annoy me today."

"Santana," Hiram chastened. "We want this to work out, but that's only going to happen if you and Rachel are getting along. That means no more bullying."

Santana looked down at her lap in shame. Of course they knew about that. Why wouldn't they? "Sorry. Old habits die hard. I'm a bitch and everybody knows it. I won't openly be mean to Rachel, but I'm not gonna stop being me."

"We would never ask you to stop being you," Leroy insisted. "We would just like it if you are a bit nicer to people. You know don't go around and call people man-hands, tranny, tubbers…"

"I'll try," Santana said. "But I'm not promising anything."

"I guess for now that will have to be good enough," Hiram said. "We have some rules for you, but I think that can wait for when you come home."

"And as for Rachel, she is spending the day with her mother," Leroy said.

Santana looked up at Leroy in shock. "When did that happen? The last we heard, Ms. Corcoran had decided to keep her distance."

"Shelby decided that she made a mistake and wants to be a part of Rachel's life. She has since moved back to Lima to be closer to Rachel," Hiram explained.

"And you're okay with the woman who practically abandoned and crushed your daughter's heart to be here?"

"Yes. We are thrilled to have Shelby back," Hiram said. "Don't get us wrong. We were upset by what Shelby did, but she was just scared. She quickly realized the mistake and corrected it. At the end of the day, that's all that matters. People mess up, and then hopefully they learn from that mistake. Sometimes you get a second chance and other times not so much. Rachel chose to forgive Shelby and let her back into her life, and we accept that."

Santana doubted that the mistake she made could ever be forgiven or made up for it. Her abuela had moved to god knows where to get away from her. She could never apologize for it. She could never make up for it, and sitting here with the Berry men she wasn't sure if she wanted to. Her abuela kicked her out because she was having sex with another woman, and here sit two men whom the woman despised offering her a home when nobody else would. They were offering her a family. She may not be gay, but maybe having sex with Brittany wasn't a mistake at all. Maybe trusting, listening, loving her abuela had been the mistake. That was a mistake she was going to learn from.

"You said you came bearing food and news," Santana said in an attempt to change the topic. This visit was turning far too heavy for her. "I gots the food, but not the news, so spill."

"Okay," Leroy said and mimicked Santana's earlier action by rubbing his hand together in excitement. "So the surgery to place the pins in your collarbone went swimmingly. I talked to Nurse Brandi and she said that you are up and walking around on your ankle nicely, and that you even asked for a shower today. Nurse Bradly informed me that you've eaten everything he brings you, and judging by the food you just ate, it would seem like your stomach is improving. That being said. I am discharging you on Friday."

"Right after we return from court," Hiram said with a smile.

Santana looked at the man in confusion.

"We managed to get an emergency custody hearing at nine o'clock in the morning, so if all goes well…"

"Which we fully believe it will," Leroy interrupted.

Hiram smile at Leroy. "Then when you are discharged on Friday you will be coming home with us, official in of care."

"That sounds great," Santana said, not quite sounding happy about it. Which both of the men caught.

"We though you would be more excited," Leroy said.

Santana smiled at Leroy weakly. "I am excited. I guess I am still in shock by all this," she lied. It wasn't that she wasn't excited, by her fear was more overwhelming. She had a chance at something she hadn't had in a very long time. A real family. She didn't want to screw it up. "Thank you. For doing this. It means a lot."

"Of course honey," Leroy said. "So tell me something about yourself that I don't already know."

"What do you want to know?" Santana asked.

"Anything," Hiram said. "What's your favorite singer?"

"My favorite singer is…"

Thursday:

Rachel walked into the room at half past seven carrying a duffle bag over her shoulder. "Good morning Santana," She greeted.

"Hey Berry," Santana said, trying very hard to keep the smile off of her face, and failing miserably. "Did you bring me more presents?"

"I did indeed," Rachel said. She sat the duffle bag onto Santana's bed and then took her seat in the chair next to the bed. "It's nothing special. Just a few things I though you would appreciate."

Santana opened the duffle to find a can of spray on deodorant, a brush and hair ties, make up kit, a pair of purple And1 basketball shorts, a black tank top, and a purple short sleeve button up shirt. She looked at the clothing questioningly.

"I didn't know what your lounging style was and I didn't think you would fit into any of my stuff. You're much taller than I am, and your chest is much bigger now. You're Daddies size so I just raided his draws. I figured you would appreciate getting out of those hospital scrubs."

"You right about that," Santana said, and got out of the bed. She used her good arm to push the scrubs off her legs, earning her a squeak of surprise and shock from Santana. She had very little modesty left since she showered with a dozen girls every day. She tossed the shorts to Rachel. "Could you give me a hand," She asked somewhat awkwardly.

Rachel peeked out through her fingers at the half naked girl. "Sure," she squeaked, and slowly uncovered her eyes.

"You act like you've never seen me naked before. We changed in front of each other all the time for performances."

"I was just surprised," Rachel said, as she bent down and waited for Santana to step into the shorts. Without being asked, she grabbed the tank top of the bed and carefully helped Santana out of the shirt trying very hard to not look at Santana's naked breasts. That was just too much for her to see. She carefully helped Santana into the tank top and the button up shirt, trying not to jostle the broken collarbone. Once she was done, she stood back and looked at her handy work. "You pull the butch look off very nicely," she commented.

Santana suddenly felt very insecure. "I'm not butch Berry. I'm not gay," she snapped.

Rachel looked a little upset by Santana's outburst. "I didn't say you were Santana. I just meant that you look hot in that. You pull the look off quite well. There is nothing wrong with that. I wasn't trying to imply that you are a lesbian."

"Oh. Right. Sorry," Santana said awkwardly, and crawled back into her bed. "Thanks for bringing this stuff."

Rachel sat back into her chair. "It was not a problem. Dads are taking us shopping on Sunday to get you clothing, and stuff to decorate your room with. They spent the night stripping the room of everything but the bed and the dressers. I woke up this morning and they were passed out in your very bare room."

"They didn't need to do that," Santana said.

"Yes they did," Rachel said. "That is your room now, and you get to decorate it anyway you like. That' just how the Berry house works."

Santana felt awkward about it. The most originality her abuela had allowed in her bedroom was the collage of pictures she had above her desk. She had ask if she could paint her room red and black once and her abuela threw a shoe at her, spotting off in Spanish that hell would freeze over before that would happen. She didn't want to have a repeat of Tuesday's conversation, so she changed the subject.

"So I was think we could skip Charmed on TNT today, and just watch it on the laptop. I'm almost down with season two, but we can totes go back to where we left off on Tuesday."

Rachel's face lite up. "Awe Santana that so considerate of you, but it's not necessary. I've seen every episode at least five times, so pick up where you left off."

"Are you sure?" Santana asked.

"I am positive Santana," Rachel said with a smile.

Leroy and Hiram walked into the room at quarter to six with pizza boxes and board games in hand. "We figured you girls wouldn't mind some company," Leroy said, smiling happily at the scene before him. Instead of sitting in the chair, Rachel was now comfortably sharing Santana's bed. "You girls look mighty comfy."

"We are," Santana said sleepily. Rachel was sitting up, and Santana had her head resting against Rachel's shoulder. She reached up and paused the show.

"You look tired honey," Hiram said.

"I am," Santana said and then sat up. "It's cool though. I'm starving. Please tell me there are meats on one of those pizzas."

"There is indeed," Leroy said, and handed her the top box, and Hiram the bottom box. He pulled up two chairs for he and his husband as Hiram handed a plate with two slices of cheese to Rachel.

Santana was mid-bite when she realized that she was the only one eating the triple meat pizza. "None of you eat meat. You're not all vegan like Rachel are ya, cause I needs meat in my life."

Leroy chuckled, "No Santana we are not vegan and yes, we do eat meat. We just don't mix dairy with meat."

"Oh right. The Jewish thing," Santana said, and then looked at the mean wearily. "You're not going to make me convert are you?"

Leroy chuckled again.

"We would like it very much if you learned about our religion and took part in our customs, but we will not force you to convert."

"Good, because I like eating meat with cheese, and I love Christmas," Santana said taking a big bite of her pizza. She knew her stomach was not going to be happy at her later on because her stomach was not accustom to all that grease, but damn if it wasn't worth it.

After they were finished eating the family played scrabble. Santana wondered if they did this a lot or if this was just for her benefit. She didn't want to ask them that though. She felt like it would be rude or something. Normally she wouldn't care about being rude, but she didn't want to give them a reason to back out on fostering her.

She found herself enjoying it regardless. It reminded her of a simpler time in her life. A time before she lost her whole family. She didn't remember much about her family, but the things that she did shine brightly in her mind. Her mother loved board games, and she often had Santana sitting at the kitchen table teaching her to play.

A tear rolled down Santana's face without her realizing it. She could still remember the day her Papi killed her family. As the good memories faded in her mind, this awful memory remained intact.

 _Santana was sitting at the table with a cup of milk and plate Oreos in front of her. She was waiting for her Mami to return to the kitchen with the game she promised. The sun was setting across the cold winter sky, making the snow look like it glowed orange. She could hear her Aunt Lizzy playing with her baby sister Bella in the living room. The little girl's laughter rand through the house._

 _Santana had finished all of her cookies, and her still hadn't come back with the board game. She decided to go see where the woman had gone. Maybe she go distracted by something and forgot about the game. That always happened to her. She walked into the living room to find her mother was not in there, but her baby sister had spotted her and crawled over to her. Bella loved playing with her big sister._

 _Santana sat down so that Bella could hug her. She could hear her mother in the background crying and wondered why she was upset. She was about to go see when the cries got louder. Her Aunt Lizzy stood up and picked up Bella, and told Santana to go back into the kitchen._

 _She wanted to make sure her Mami was okay, but knew better than to disobey her aunt. That would just get her into trouble and she hated to be in trouble. She was walking back toward the kitchen when her mother's cries became louder. Her father walked into the living room carrying a gun in his right hand and dragging her nearly unconscious mother by the shirt in the other._

 _Santana didn't understand what was happening. She didn't know why her Papi had his gun out, and why her Mami was crying. She could hear her aunt yelling at her Papi, but the words didn't register in her mind. All she knew was that her Papi wasn't her Papi anymore. She could see it in his eyes. His eyes scared her._

 _Santana screamed when her Papi raised the gun and pointed it at her Aunt and baby sister. She screamed no, and to stop, but the gun went off any way. The five year old cried out as she watched her aunt drop to the floor, blood pouring out of her head. Her Papi let go of her Mami and advanced on her aunt and crying sister. He pointed the gun at Bella and fired the gun, killing the baby almost instantly._

 _He spat on Bella and mumble demon bastard, for tuning to her wife. He raised the gun again, and fired three shots at the woman's head. He then turned and looked at Santana, who was frozen in her spot by the kitchen door. Tears streamed down her face as her father raised the gun at her. "Papi, please stop. I love you. Please stop hurting everyone. Please stop."_

" _I can't honey. I have to save you from them," he said. "They were gonna take you away from me. They were gonna give you to the demons, like they did your sister. That wasn't Bella. That wasn't my baby. That was the demons pretending to be her. I knew though. I knew baby girl, and I won't let them have you. I won't."_

" _Papi?"_

" _You'll be safe know baby. I promise that they won't get you. You'll be safe now."_

 _Santana watched in confusion and horror as her Papi turned the gun onto himself and place the barrel into his mouth. A loud bang went off, and Santana screamed. She collapsed onto the floor, confused and crying. She crawled over to her Mami and tried to wake her up, but she wasn't moving. She was gone. They were all gone._

All three of the Berry's were watching Santana in concern. Tears were silently streaming down her face, but the girl wasn't moving or speaking. Leroy was attempting to get Santana's attention, but she seemed to have gone catatonic all of a sudden. He pulled out his pocket light and shined it in Santana's eyes so her could see if she responsive.

Santana startled him when she suddenly looked up at him with watery eyes.

"Thank god," Leroy said. "You gave us all a heart attack."

Santana didn't say anything. She just continued to look up at him. Tears rapidly leaked out of her eyes, and her bottom lip quivered. She brought her knees up to her chest and buried her head in her on good arm, and started to cry hysterically.

Rachel wrapped her arms around her foster sister, and looked up at her daddy questioningly. She had no understanding of what had just happened. One minute Santana had been laughing about the silly word Hiram had placed, and the next she was crying and unresponsive.

Leroy shrugged his shoulders, and then left the room. He need to see Santana's chart to see if the was a medical reason for what just happened.

Hiram sat watching the two girls closely. Santana looked and sounded heartbroken, and his daughter was doing her best to comfort the girl. He knew what she had been through. He had read the file and he watched as the five year old Santana recounted what her father had done. He had watched her cry as she spoke. He knew what was going on in that girl's head, and for the first time since he had decided to let Santana come love with them, he knew he had made the right decision. That girl needed a family to love her.

Santana allowed Rachel to hold her as she cried. She was too far gone in her grief to care about being strong. She just wanted the warmth of somebody to remind her that she was still alive. Leroy tried to ask her questions, but she stayed quiet. She didn't feel like answering him yet. She would do that another day, when she wasn't hurting so much. The flashback had been so real. It was like she had been reliving the worst day of her life, and now that the memory was fresh in her mind she could see past it. It was just there overpowering everything.

Leroy and Hiram sat there watching as Rachel comforted Santana until the girl fell asleep. They were powerless to help Santana at that moment, and it made them feel useless. They cleaned up the game and sat the pizza off to the side, and then headed home.

Rachel had tried to get out of Santana grasp, but the girl begged her to stay, so she did. She held Santana well into the night, and finally drifted off to sleep hours after her fathers left. :

Friday:

Rachel woke up to an empty bed. The clock on the all read seven thirty four. Much later then she usual slept until. She looked around the room to find Santana but she wasn't there. She slid off the tall bed and moved to the bathroom door.

Santana opened the door when she heard Rachel knocking. She didn't say anything as she slipped past the girl.

"Are you okay, Santana?"

"I'm fine Berry," She said curtly.

"But you weren't fine last night," Rachel stated.

Santana turned around to look at Rachel. She could see that Rachel was concerned for her. She just couldn't open up and have all those messy feeling spilling all over the place. "Your right. I wasn't fine last night. I don't want to talk about it. It just hurts. It hurts too much to talk about."

"Okay," Rachel said tentatively. "I'm here, if you want to talk, or you just need a hug."

"Thanks Berry," Santana said.

"Of course. That's what sisters are for," Rachel said shyly.

A smile crossed Santana's lips. She was warming up to the idea of Rachel being her sister. Rachel wasn't nearly as annoying as she once thought. "Yeah. Sisters."

Brandi showed up twenty minutes later to take Santana out for one more walk around the courtyard. She had grown quiet fond of the young lady in her charge. When Santana retuned an hour and a half later there was a new bag sitting on her table.

"One last present," Rachel said from the chair where she was sitting.

"Is this one going to take me to Narnia?" Santana quipped.

"Funny," Rachel said.

Santana opened the bag up to find a soft red summer dress, with black trimming. "I bought it for you on Wednesday, but forgot it at my mom's apartment. I figured you would like to go home in something nice, so I asked her to bring it over. Along with a few other necessities. Like a razor, shaving cream, underwear."

"Thanks Berry," Santana said.

"You can call me Rachel, Santana."

"I know Ber…Rachel."

"Good," Rachel said. "Let's get you all cleaned up and in that dress. Your custody hearing is supposed to start in a few minutes, and then dads will be here to take you home.

An hour later the Berry men walked into Santana's room looked somber. "Oh no," Rachel said as soon as she saw them. Santana turned to look at what Rachel was looking at. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

Both men looked at the girls and then broke out in a smile. Leroy pulled a packet of papers from behind him and said, "Everything went swimmingly."

Santana released a heavy sigh of relief.

Hiram stepped up to the bed. "So Santana. Are you ready to go home?"

"More than you know," Santana said, with a genuine smile.


End file.
